What China Really Thinks Of The United States
As expected, Chinese President Hu Jintao's United States visit is leading to a slew of articles on China. This Time Magazine article, entitled "What China Really Thinks Of The U.S." makes for interesting reading on how China views the United States. I found the following paragraph particularly interesting because what it seems to say is that the Chinese generally like the United States, despite viewing us as "unfriendly" towards China:
Public opinion polls conducted in recent years by the Horizon Group, an independent research outfit in Beijing, show that an almost schizophrenic attitude toward the U.S. extends far beyond the upper echelons of Chinese society. A survey in late 2005 showed that two-thirds of the respondents thought Sino-American relations had improved over the last year and that three-quarters of them liked American culture, but the U.S. was also rated as the world's most unfriendly country toward China. Some 56% said they didn't believe that Americans respect China.
Though there are no doubt people who would say that the Chinese think highly of us because we are unfriendly towards China and its government, I am convinced that if the United States were to become "friendlier" with China, an even greater number of Chinese would come to like us.
"Friendliness," however, is a pretty vague term here and I am not sure exactly what it means in this context or even whether it is something for which the United States should be striving. Nonetheless, I do find this interesting because it does seem to mean that 3/4 of China's people have a generally good feeling about the U.S.
Comments (2)
Read through and enter the discussion by using the form at the endEdryce Reynolds - April 18, 2006 10:09 AM
I just found your blog as a result of an article in a local newspaper! I am enjoying it, and will continue to follow it.
For the entire year 2001, I taught in Beijing as an exchange college instructor. That was the year of the airplane collision in April and, of course, 9/11. I was preparing for the next day at my computer with the TV on (it was 12 hours later in Beijing when the planes hit) when there was an interruption (English speaking TV station for "foreign" teachers). There had never been a "special bulletin" on that station, and I had been there long enough to know that something different was happening. It was surreal to experience that change in our culture from so far away.
I was writing a monthly column for my local newspaper. When I wrote that month's column, I said I hoped there would be no war. As a result, several people I knew would not speak to me when I returned home in 2002. Small wonder that people who spoke out later (and are still speaking out) have been so maligned.
I saw the Chinese people as really admiring us, especially the young people I dealt with. They all wore jeans, listened to U.S. music, etc. They seemed to admire us, in spite of the differences. About the "government," they would consistently, "Ah, the government. Just a bunch of stupid old men."
Edryce Reynolds
Tacoma, Washington
China Law Blog - April 24, 2006 4:32 PM
Mr. Reynolds -- Thanks for checking in. I still see the Chinese as admiring the U.S. for many things, but I worry this will wane. Too many Americans have no real idea what it is like in places like China and, even worse, they don't even really care to know. Other countries know that about us and view it as arrogance. I think they are wrong to ascribe it to arrogance as I see it as ignorance. No matter what it is, however, it does not serve us well.